Lal Masjid Operation | SilverScorpio.Com

‘Defiant’ Musharraf ready to take on Pak SC head-on if summoned

May 20, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, May 20 (ANI): Accepting the challenge thrown at him by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Chief (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif, former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has said that he is ready to appear in the Supreme Court if summoned in any case.

“I only hope that justice will be done,” Musharraf said.

Interacting with media persons during a press conference here, Musharraf clarified that he has no regret over any decision taken by him during his eight-year long tenure.

The Lal Masjid operation, Akbar Bugti’s murder, NRO and decisions taken regarding the judiciary, and all other decisions were taken in light of the situation at that time, Musharraf said.

In December last year, Pakistan’s Supreme Court declared the emergency imposed by Musharraf in 2007 as unconstitutional and illegal, and went on to strike down the amnesty law, the National Reconciliation ordinance (NRO), following which several criminal and civil cases were filed against Musharraf.

Responding to a question regarding the United Nations inquiry report, which held his regime responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Musharraf stressed that Bhutto was provided full security cover, and that the then government could not be blamed for the gun and bomb attack on December 27, 2007.

He said Bhutto’s death was a great loss, but to implicate him and other top officials such as the then Director General Military Intelligence (MI) was part of a conspiracy.

Musharraf said he would return to the country soon and participate in elections, adding that he would formally announce his political party in few days.

“As far as a date for returning to Pakistan is concerned, I have not fixed a date but there is one desire. Whenever the next elections are held, whether they are end-term or mid-term, I will return to Pakistan before that,” The Nation quoted Musharraf, as saying.

Meanwhile, Musharraf’s legal advisor Chaudhary Fawad said that the Supreme Court cannot summon the former President on the NRO issue as the apex court does not have the authority to do so and it can only review the law. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Accepting The Challenge, Amnesty Law, Benazir Bhutto, bomb attack, former prime minister, general pervez musharraf, gilani, inquiry report, Lal Masjid Operation, media persons, military intelligence, national reconciliation, Nawaz Sharif, nro, Pak Sc, Pakistan Muslim League, pakistan muslim league nawaz, Pervez Musharraf, pml-n, president general pervez musharraf

Ex-advisers say Musharraf had no role in Benazir, Nawab Bugti killings

May 3, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Karachi, May 3 (ANI): Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf had no role to play in the assassinations of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto and Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and no hand in the Lal Masjid operation.

Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif and Major General (retired) Rashid Qureshi claimed that those who feared Musharraf’s popularity were levelling false allegations against him.

They said Nawab Bugti was killed during an army operation in Balochistan, which was initiated on the request of the Balochistan Government.

“Scores of Army officers and jawans were also martyred in that operation,” they added.

Musharraf aides claimed the former military ruler was the only leader to bravely represent the country at every forum.

Commenting on relations between the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) and the MQM, they said ties were good and no attempt was made to create any hurdle in the way of APML.

They warned that now Musharraf is not a single person. “He is the head of a political party and any move against him would be resisted at every level,” they claimed.

Earlier, talking to mediamen at Jinnah International Airport, Qureshi said that PPP and PML-N started blaming Musharraf for Benazir Bhutto’s assassination whenever he talked about returning to the country.

He said: “All those people, who are the supporters of Musharraf, are included in the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Apml, army officers, army operation, Assassinations, Balochistan Government, Benazir Bhutto, false allegations, hurdle, Jinnah International Airport, Lal Masjid Operation, military ruler, mqm, Muhammad Ali, Nawab Bugti, Pakistan Muslim League, Pervez Musharraf, pml-n, qureshi, Rashid, Saif

Implement sharia in Pak or face bloody revolution: Lal Masjid head

July 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 11 (ANI): The head of Pakistan’s radical Lal Masjid, Abdul Aziz, has threatened the Pakistan Government of launching a ‘bloody revolution’, if the Zardari-led coalition fails to enforce an Islamic system in the country through parliament.

Addressing the Second Shuhda-e-Lal Masjid Conference at the Lal Masjid, Aziz said the government has not been able to make any progress in the probe into the Lal Masjid Operation, which took place two years ago, the Daily Times reports.

Demanding the operation to be declared extra-judicial, Aziz clarified that his release was not part of any deal with the government.

Speaking on the occasion, member of the NWFP assembly Mufti Kifayatullah demanded the government cease its military operation in the province and initiate a dialogue with the Taliban.

He alleged that Pakistan Army was ‘killing its own people at the behest of the US’.

Strict security arrangements were put in place this time around, considering last year’s conference where many policemen and civilians were killed in a suicide attack. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abdul Aziz, ANI, army, assembly, attack, behest, Bloody Revolution, civilians, coalition, conference, country, daily, deal, demanding, dialogue, face, Government, head, implement, Islamabad, Islamic, Islamic System, July, Kifayatullah, lal masjid, Lal Masjid Operation, member, military operation, mufti, NWFP, occasion, operation, Pak, Pakistan, Pakistan army, Pakistan government, parliament, place, policemen, probe, progress, province, release, revolution, Second, security, security arrangements, sharia, Shuhda-e, strict security, suicide, Suicide attack, system, Taliban, time, times, US, year, Zardari-led

Petition against US drone attacks filed in Pak SC

July 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 2 (ANI): A petition has been filed in the Pakistan Supreme Court asking the government to table a comprehensive report on the US led drone strikes inside the geographical boundaries of the country.

The petition has been filed by one M. Tariq Asad, who claimed that only innocent tribal people are being killed in the drone strikes.

“I have filed the petition in the Supreme Court as a protest to let the world know about the sentiments of the people of Pakistan on consecutive drone attacks which are killing scores of people,” The Dawn quoted Asad, as saying.

Asad, in his petition, has also asked the apex court to give directions to the federal government to approach the International Court of Justice or the United Nations (UN) against the United States.

The petition termed the ongoing military operation in Swat and Malakand Divisions as ‘illegal, and said that it was against the citizens, and in derogation of Article 245 (functions of the armed forces) of the Constitution.

“The war against the citizens is not permitted under the 1973 Constitution, besides the military operation against the civilians also does not fall within the purview of Article 245 of the Constitution,” the petition stated.

Incidentally, Asad is the same man who had approached the Supreme Court against the Lal Masjid operation in 2007.

Asad, who himself is a lawyer, also represented some of the families of the missing persons in that case. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, apex, apex court, Article, Asad, case, civilians, constitution, country, Court, court of justice, dawn, derogation, divisions, drone, geographical boundaries, Government, Incidentally, international, international court of justice, Islamabad, July, justice, lal masjid, Lal Masjid Operation, lawyer, M. Tariq Asad, Malakand, man, military operation, missing persons, operation, Pak, Pak Sc, Pakistan, pakistan supreme court, petition, protest, purview, report, sentiments, supreme, swat, table, tariq, Tribal, United States, US, war, world

Extremism is Pakistan’s biggest threat: Musharraf

May 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 26 (ANI): Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that extremism poses the biggest threat to Pakistan.

In an interview to a private TV channel, Musharraf claimed that Islamabad has taken several steps to thwart extremism, and criticism in this regard was baseless.

He urged both India and Afghanistan to join Pakistan in initiating some harsh measures to root out extremism from the region.

Commenting on the Swat offensive, the Daily Times quoted him as saying that the security forces should remain in the valley even after the operation is called-off.

Musharraf also defended the Lal Masjid operation, claiming that several male and female suicide bombers were hiding inside the mosque when the operation was launched.

He said everything was done to resolve the issue through peaceful dialogue, but ultimately a security operation has to be launched.

“Abdul Aziz was challenging the writ of the government. I sent many people to counsel him, including members of the Islamic Ideology Council, the wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi and the Imam of Ka’aba,” Musharraf said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aba, Abdul Aziz, Abdul-Sattar, Afghanistan, ANI, channel, Council, criticism, daily, dialogue, Edhi, everything, extremism, female suicide bombers, former, Government, Harsh Measures, ideology, imam, India, Interview, Islamabad, Islamic, islamic ideology, issue, Ka Aba, Lahore, lal masjid, Lal Masjid Operation, May, mosque, Musharraf, offensive, operation, Pakistan, pakistan president pervez musharraf, peaceful dialogue, pervez, Pervez Musharraf, president, president pervez musharraf, private tv channel, regard, region, Sattar Edhi, security, security forces, Security Operation, several steps, suicide, swat, threat, times, valley, wife, writ

India doesn’t kill in Kashmir as Pak is doing in Swat : Qazi

May 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 21 (ANI): Pakistan’s religious leaders have strongly criticized the Swat offensive, saying innocent civilians are being killed in the operation, and added that even India has never adopted such measures in Kashmir.

“It is not correct to target the whole population for the pursuance of few terrorists and even the Indian forces never adopted such measures in occupied Kashmir,” the former Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad said.

The target of operation is not Taliban or Sufi Mohammad but the poor and innocent people,” The News quoted Ahmad, as saying.

He also claimed that the government is fully aware about the US led drone attacks in the tribal regions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

“The United States wants to occupy our nuclear assets by marginalizing the Taliban issue and drone attacks are being carried out with the government’s consent,” Ahmad added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, action replay, Afghanistan, Ahmad, amir, ANI, border, consent, difference, drone, Government, hussain, India, innocent civilians, Islamabad, Islami, issue, jamaat e islami, Jamaat-e, Kashmir, killing, lal masjid, Lal Masjid Operation, large numbers, May, mohammad, NEWS, nuclear assets, offensive, operation, Pak, Pakistan, population, pursuance, Qazi, qazi hussain ahmad, religious leaders, replay, security, security forces, swat, Taliban, target, terrorists, Tribal, United States, US

Pak religious leaders criticize Swat offensive

May 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ahmad blamed the security forces for the killing of innocent people in the operation.
“The Swat operation is the action replay of Lal Masjid operation and the only difference is that large numbers of innocent people are being killed in Swat. The target of operation is not Taliban or Sufi Mohammad but the poor and innocent people,” The News quoted Ahmad, as saying.

He also claimed that the government is fully aware about the US led drone attacks in the tribal regions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

“The United States wants to occupy our nuclear assets by marginalizing the Taliban issue and drone attacks are being carried out with the government’s consent,” Ahmad added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action replay, Ahmad, amir, drone, hussain, innocent civilians, Islamabad, jamaat e islami, Kashmir, Lal Masjid Operation, large numbers, measures, mohammad, nuclear assets, Pakistan, religious leaders, security forces, swat, Taliban, target, terrorists

Swat situation, a reaction to Lal Masjid operation, says chief cleric Aziz

May 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 4 (ANI): The recently released controversial cleric of Lal Masjid (Red Mosque), Maulana Abdul Aziz, has said that whatever situation has emerged in the troubled areas of Swat, Buner and Dir was a reaction of a military operation conducted on the mosque in 2007.

Aziz said most of the students of Lal Masjid who suffered due to the operation belonged to those areas and now they were taking their revenge.

“I had warned the then government not to go for the military operation on the mosque otherwise the situation would get out of control and I will not be responsible for the reaction,” The Dawn quoted Aziz, as saying.

“Most of my students belonged to Swat, Buner, Dir and some nearby areas and they are reacting and taking revenge of the blood of their relatives and friends,” Aziz said while expressing ignorance about the exact number deaths in the mosque during the operation.

“Now they are not under my control and whatever they are doing in Swat and Buner is their own decision,” he said when asked why he does not ask his students to keep themselves away from militants.

Aziz was of the view that hundreds of people were killed; including women and children, in the Lal Masjid operation that also claimed the lives of 10 security personnel.

However, former President Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf had recently said that the security forces in the operation killed a total of 94 people and they all were armed militants. He claimed that not a single woman and child was killed in that incident.

Coincidently, President Asif Ali Zardari has released Aziz on bail simultaneously with the approval of the Swat deal despite the fact that he was facing 26 different cases.

Aziz, a day after his return to Lal Masjid, called for a movement to implement Sharia in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the intolerant behaviour of Lal Masjid students and display of arms are again back in the heart of the federal capital. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Asif Ali Zardari, Buner, cleric, exact number, former president, Islamabad, Lal Masjid Operation, Maulana Abdul Aziz, military operation, nearby areas, Pervez Musharraf, red mosque, security forces, security personnel, sharia, single woman, swat, Taking Revenge, troubled areas, woman and child

Musharraf says no woman or child was killed in Lal Masjid operation

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Apr. 20 (ANI): Former Pakistan President General (r) Pervez Musharraf has claimed that no child or woman was killed in the controversial military operation conducted in Lal Masjid in 2007.

“It is time to end the lies. Those who say women and children were killed and several hundreds died in the Lal Masjid operation are telling white lies. Only 94 people were killed and all of them were terrorists and extremists. Not a single woman or child was killed,” the Dawn quoted Musharraf, as saying.
However, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain rejected Musharraf’s claim, by saying that there were some children and women present when the operation was carried out against the militants.

“I do not know the exact number of children and women that were inside the mosque during the operation but it is a fact that the mother of Maulana Abdul Aziz (Imam of Lal Masjid) was among those killed in the battle,” said Hussain, who was in power during Musharraf’s regime.

Shujaat added that he had opposed the launching of operation, and even Musharraf, recently, had admitted this fact.

Controversy still prevails about the killing of women and children, and nobody exactly knows the entire truth.

Even Lal Masjid’s Khatib Maulana Abdul Aziz after his release on bail said, “It is quite difficult to tell the exact number of total women and children killed in the mosque during the operation.”

Musharraf, who was leaving for Saudi Arabia for Umrah, also did not have any clear view on the peace deal with the Taliban in the northwestern Swat valley.

“Nothing can be said. If the agreement is only for ensuring speedy and cheap justice within the Pakistani legal structure and system, then it is all right. But from a position of weakness, if the Taliban want to challenge the writ of the government, the deal is dangerous and should not be allowed,” Musharraf said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abdul Aziz, agreement, ANI, Apr, bail, battle, Chaudhry, chaudhry shujaat hussain, child, claim, controversy, dawn, deal, exact number, extremists, fact, former, general, Government, hussain, imam, Islamabad, justice, Khatib, killing, lal, lal masjid, Lal Masjid Operation, launching, league, Legal Structure, maulana, militants, military operation, mosque, mother, Musharraf, Muslim, nobody, northwestern Swat, nothing, number, operation, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League, peace, peace deal, pervez, Pervez Musharraf, position, power, president, president general, Quaid, regime, release, right, Saudi Arabia, shujaat, single woman, structure, swat valley, system, Taliban, time, truth, Umrah, valley, view, weakness, woman, writ

Musharraf asks America to give unconditional aid to Pak

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Apr. 20 (ANI): Former Pakistan President General (r) Pervez Musharraf has said that the United States should not attach any preconditions to its anti-terror aid to Pakistan.

The Daily Times quoted Musharraf, as saying that the armed forces and the Pakistan Government should jointly devise a strategy to fight terrorists in the country.

Speaking on the Swat peace deal with the Taliban, he said the deal would be good for the country only if it brought peace and justice, but it could not be supported if it infringed the sovereignty of the state.

Interacting with press before leaving for Saudi Arabia, Musharraf urged the nation, especially the media, to focus on the current challenges facing the country.

He said he was going to Saudi Arabia on a special invitation by the Saudi king, Shah Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz.

On the controversial Lal Masjid Operation, Musharraf rejected the claims that children and women were among the 94 people killed in the 2007 Lal Masjid operation in Islamabad. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: abdullah bin abdul aziz, armed forces, challenges, invitation, Islamabad, Lal Masjid Operation, Pakistan government, Peace And Justice, peace deal, Pervez Musharraf, Preconditions, president general, Saudi Arabia, Saudi King, sovereignty, swat, Taliban, terror, terrorists, unconditional aid

‘Islamabad suicide attack was Taliban’s revenge for Lal Masjid operation’

March 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Mar. 25 (ANI): Pak-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud might be involved in Monday’s suicide attack on the offices of the police’s Special Branch in Islamabad to avenge the July 2007 Lal Masjid operation, investigators have said.

The preliminarily investigation suggests that the same group of militants that had carried out an attack in Rawalpindi on March 16 carried out the latest attack, sources told the Dawn.

The office of the Anti-Terrorism Squad has been targeted before, but this time, the investigators suspect that the bomber wanted to hit the residential quarters.

The ATS building, which has barracks for 100 policemen, also houses offices of the assistant inspector-general, the superintendent of police and the bomb disposal squad.

“Three men in their 20s wearing shalwar qamiz were spotted walking towards the gate of the headquarters. One of them blew himself up after he was grabbed by a constable, while another escaped,” sources said.

The group is believed to have comprised of two suicide attackers and a handler who had escaped. The explosives were locally made with potassium chlorate weighing four to six kilograms and ball bearings.

The investigation team found a mobile phone and a damaged SIM at the scene, and sent them to a laboratory to retrieve data.

Three pieces of a face were also sent to a hospital for reconstruction, and a leg suspected to be of the attacker was sent for a DNA test. Sketches of the attacker and his two companions were prepared with the help of witnesses.

An eyewitness stated that he heard someone shouting ‘stop, stop’ on his way back from a mosque. He saw the constable capturing a man who suddenly blew himself up.

A constable, Abdul Jabar, stated that he saw three persons walking towards the entrance.

A few minutes later, he heard a blast and saw two of them escape. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abdul Jabar, ANI, anti, assistant, Assistant Inspector General, ATS, attack, attacker, Baitullah, baitullah mehsud, ball, ball bearings, barracks, blast, bomb, Bomb Disposal Squad, bomber, branch, building, chlorate, constable, dawn, disposal, dna, dna test, entrance, eyewitness, face, gate, group, handler, headquarters, help, hospital, investigation, investigation team, Islamabad, July, kilograms, Laboratory, lal masjid, Lal Masjid Operation, leg, man, mar, March, Mehsud, Monday, mosque, office, operation, Pak, Phone, police, policemen, potassium, Potassium Chlorate, qamiz, rawalpindi, reconstruction, Residential Quarters, revenge, scene, shalwar, sim, sketches, someone, squad, stop, suicide, Suicide attack, suicide attackers, superintendent, Taliban, team, terrorism, test, three persons, Three Pieces, time, way

Jamaat-e-Islami to file petition against Musharraf

March 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Karachi, Mar. 20 (ANI): Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami party has decided to file a petition against former Pakistan President General (r) Pervez Musharraf over the Lal-Masjid operation, and ongoing army operation in tribal areas of the country.

JeI leader Asadullah Bhutto told The Nation that the Central Shoora of party would decide the future course of action about to file the petition against Musharraf, and the party has not finalized its strategy so far.

Bhutto said has expressed satisfaction and happiness on the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other judges, who had been deposed by Musharraf.

“The PCO judiciary has not been able to provide justice to the people, and it was the major reason why JeI did not make party’s policy to file the petition against Pervez Musharraf,” The Nation quoted him, as saying.

All sacked judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts, including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, will resume their earlier positions from March 22. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, ANI, army, army operation, asadullah, bhutto, Central Shoora, Chief Justice Iftikhar, country, course, Court, general, happiness, high courts, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, iftikhar muhammad chaudhry, Islami, jamaat e islami, Jamaat-e, jei, judiciary, justice, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, karachi, lal, lal masjid, Lal Masjid Operation, leader, mar, March, mohammad, Mohammad Chaudhry, muhammad, Muhammad Chaudhry, Musharraf, nation, operation, Pakistan, party, PCO, pervez, Pervez Musharraf, petition, policy, president, president general, reason, reinstatement, satisfaction, strategy, supreme, Tribal, tribal areas

NRO, Lal Masjid operation will be challenged in court: Imran

March 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Mar 17 (ANI): Former cricketer and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was against basic human rights and would be challenged in court.

A private TV channel quoted Khan as saying that incidents like May 12 and the Lal Masjid operation would also be challenged in court.

He said Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had been reinstated through the people’s power and would stand by the people.

Khan warned that the nation would not accept any move to curtail the powers of the CJP, the Daily Times reported.

He also said the people had a one-point agenda of restoration of the judiciary, and dispelled the impression that they wanted to destabilise the government.

The NRO was signed between then President Pervez Musharraf in 2007, paving the way for a power-sharing deal with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf signed the ordinance giving amnesty to Bhutto and other political leaders — except exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif — in all court cases against them. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agenda, Amnesty, ANI, benazir, Benazir Bhutto, bhutto, channel, Chief Justice, chief justice of pakistan, CJP, Court, Court Cases, cricketer, daily, deal, destabilise, former, former prime minister, Government, Iftikhar, iftikhar muhammad chaudhry, impression, Imran, Imran Khan, Insaf, judiciary, khan, Lahore, lal masjid, Lal Masjid Operation, mar, May, minister, move, Muhammad Chaudhry, Musharraf, nation, national, national reconciliation, nawaz, Nawaz Sharif, nro, operation, ordinance, Pakistan, pakistan tehreek e insaf, paving the way, pervez, Pervez Musharraf, point agenda, power, Premier, president, president pervez musharraf, prime, private tv channel, pti, reconciliation, restoration, sharif, tehreek e insaf, Tehreek-e, times, way